Cusco Cathedral

The first stone was placed to begin construction of the cathedral in 1560. It is a marvel of religious art, home to approximately 300 paintings from the Cusqueña School.

Qorikancha

We visit the exquisite architectural feats of the ancient "Koricancha" Temple.

Sacsayhuaman

The archaeological complex of Saqsayhuamán is a majestic place with impressive works in stone, some up to 120 tons.

Q'enqo

A religious center dedicated to the adoration of the Earth.

Puka Pukara

that was used as a military control center.

Tambomachay

a center of adoration and worship of water.

Sacred Valley

From your hotel we’ll head to the famous Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Pisac Market

Our first stop is Pisac, founded during Colonial times, you will be able to appreciate the mixture of tradition. Here you will have the opportunity to test your bartering skills, interact with the local craftsmen and purchase hand-made souvenirs.

Urubamba

After the visit, we will have a great buffet lunch with emphasis on locally grown organic products in the town of Urubamba.

Archaeological Park Ollantaytambo

After lunch, it’s time to visit Ollantaytambo. The narrow streets along with their canals, have not changed much from the time of the Inca Empire.

Complejo Arqueologico Chinchero

The last visit will be the Chinchero market. Chinchero is believed to be the mythical birthplace of the rainbow. At the end of the tour, return to Cusco.

We will pick you up from your Hotel at 5:00am (to be confirmed during the briefing). We will be heading to ‘Piscacucho’ but before that our first stop will be at Ollantaytambo on the way to the Sacred Valley and get there our breakfast. Finished our first stop, we will continue until we get to ‘Piscacucho’ and get our check-in. We will need to show our passport, student ID, tickets, etc at the control point. Remember there is limited access to the Inca Trail. The Trail begins at 2,720m / 8,923 ft and we will be heading across the Vilcanota River on the right side. But the path soon begins to get abruptly lean through the cloud forest. In time will spot the great views of an Inca Fortress called 'Huillca Raccay', as well as the vast and incredible Inca site of 'Patallacta'. Also, we will see the Urubamba mountain range that divides the jungle, the Andes and the beautiful snow-capped peak of 'W'akay Willca' at 5, 860m /19,225 ft, known as Veronica.

There was so much beauty to admire on this first day out of the Inca Trail 4-day hike, an incredible encounter with the Andean nature. Now we will set up our first campsite near the small village of Wayllabamba 3, 000m / 9, 842ft in the temperate valley of the same name. Temperatures at night are around 5ºC (depending on the month).

After you have finished your breakfast made by our cooks we will get ready for the day ahead of us. It is 5:30 am but we will need most of the daylight and strength for what it comes next on our trek. We will climb a steep ascent which it will take us some hours to achieve. For the Inca, this was part of pilgrimage route, a sacred one, to become one with the Apus (mountains) or the gods protecting the Andes. After some hours we have reached the highest pass at Abra de Warrmihuañusca or 'Dead Woman's Pass' at 4,200 m / 13,779 ft. This was not an easy task, and you should be proud of yourself because is not easy to get to this point.

Runkuracay

After a rest, we begin the descent to our lunch stop which is located at Pacaymayu at 3, 550m /11,646 ft. As we are passing, we will be able to see lots of hummingbirds as well as other birds species. Also, we will appreciate an incredible variety of native plants, trees such as the ´Polylepis´ which only grow in the cloud forest located at 3,650m /11,972ft. After lunch, we will take another 2 hours’ steep climb to Runkurakay pass at almost 4,000m and set up our campsite by 5 pm. Temperatures at this campsite are around 4ºC during the night.

It’s great camping surrounded by incredible landscapes and seeing a unique Andean flora and fauna. Total distance to be covered on day 3: 10km (5 hours more or less). Once you have uploaded all the energy you need by finishing your breakfast, we will get ready to follow our trail. A gentle climb will lead us to our first stop at the archaeological site of 'Phuyupatamarca' meaning 'Town in the Clouds' and reach the third highest point on the trail 3, 680 m. The views of the mountains, canyons, and surrounding areas are spectacular!

Winay Wayna

As we are walking to third pass the Inca site of 'Phuyupatamarca'. Then we continue walking 3,000 steps through the cloud forest at the impressive agricultural Inca site of 'Intipata'. Later on, during our trail, we will arrive at our third campsite Wiñay Wayna at 2,680m/8, 792 ft. We have walked so far between 4 to 5 hours and will arrive at camp by lunchtime. A short distance from our campsite is located the Inca site of the same name 'Wiñay Wayna' or 'Forever Young' which is a must to visit and now we are close to complete the Inca Trail hike. Temperatures during the night are about 12º

Machu Picchu

We leave the last campsite at about 5:30am on the final day (breakfast is around 3:30-4:00am). It is an early start in order to get to 'Inti Punku' ('Sun gate') (2730m/8792ft) before sunrise. This is the place where you will have your first dramatic view of Machu Picchu (2400m/7873ft) with the sun rising over it! After some time there, we will walk down the last part of the trail to a spot where you can take the classic picture postcard shot of this ancient city. Finally, we visit Machu Picchu itself! A walking tour (2 hours) is given by your guide and after this you can explore the mysterious city by yourselves. You will meet your guide in Aguas Calientes (it can be reached by bus or on foot) for lunch and be given your train tickets back to Cusco. Train included in all tours is until Poroy and then by bus to Cusco.

Cusco

After breakfast enjoy your last day at leisure before transferring to the airport for our return flight at home.